Man sentenced to 41 years in prison for trying to kill witness

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WAUKESHA—A Janesville man convicted of trying to kill a witness in a drug case against him was sentenced to more than 40 years in prison this week, court records show.

Demetrius L. Cooper, 33, fired three shots at the Waukesha County home of Aaron Kletzke, a confidential informant who helped Janesville police in a Rock County heroin case, according to court documents.

Although Kletzke was not injured in the November 2011 shooting, a Waukesha County jury found Cooper guilty in August of attempted murder, recklessly endangering safety and intimidation of a witness.

A judge sentenced Cooper to 41 years in prison and 25 years of extended supervision on Monday, according to court records.

The sentence will run consecutively with a 10-year prison sentence Cooper received in the Rock County case, in which he was convicted of selling heroin in Janesville between September 2010 and February 2011, according to court documents.

Rock County Assistant District Attorney Gerald Urbik pointed out that means Cooper could be on extended supervision until he's more than 100 years old.

The sentence sends a message that law enforcement takes witness intimidation very seriously, and that someone who has been charged with a crime is better off accepting the consequences rather than trying to tamper with the case.

“Anybody who attempts to kill a witness in a case deserves the full force of the criminal justice system coming down on them,” Urbik said.